Creatine and Androstenedione

During October of 1997 ESPN had a program of the effects of supplements in Professional Football called Outside the Lines. It was shown that a high percentage of Football players used Creatine as a workout supplement to make themselves stronger and to help them recover from injuries quicker. However, another side of Creatine was shown. Some players reported an extremely dislike for Creatine and even blamed the supplement for destroying their career. Including Astros outfielder Derick Bell who was hospitalized twice while using Creatine. First time for kidney stones and the second time for dehydration. Some strength and conditioning coaches, with the help of team doctors have banned Creatine from their teams and have shown it to have very negative side effects.

A half of a year later on August 24, 1998 ESPN ran a 30-second spot bought by the makers of Creatine during the Little League World Series. This brought up the ethics in running commercials during a show that young children and their parents will see that is shown to help them play just like major league baseball players. However, many people where quite upset that these commercials are for a supplement that many people disagree on the safety of.

While the issue of Creatine and Andro has just become a major topic within the last year or so it is a part of a topic that has been around for decades. It is a topic of dietary supplements and workout supplements that are a multi-million dolar industry that is not well studied to the health or harm of an individual. As a workout supplement both Creatine and Andro are probably the best known but part of more than a thousand workout supplements on the market. If they provide an unfair advantage or if they are safe for athletes and body builders remains to be seen. Like most supplements it may take decades to find the true effect of what these supplements actually do to the human body. This paper while try to show the two different arguments that are that are thrown back and forth between both the supporters and those that are against these two supplements. Whether or not this paper sheds any light on the controversial subject remains to be seen.

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The main question of what policy should be taken is how these supplements should be controlled. As long as the safety is still in question of this supplements they should be heavily studied and an attempt to control them should still be made. Just because something is considered to be harmfull to a person does not prevent that person from ingesting it into their body. A similar substance to compare this to is anabolic steroids. This drug was not only banned from sports but made illegal to buy or sell due to its negative side effects, including death. However, athletes and body builders looking for that competitive edge still continue to take the drug disregarding its hazard for the body.

The main bodies that this issue affects is the collective sports body, on whether or not should they ban either of the supplements, if they haven't already, and the athlete himself. The FDA also plays a role into the outcome, but their hands are basically tied because both Creatine and Andro are considered dietary supplements, and the FDA as of the present does not have a policy on regulating them. The collective sports body main concern is if these supplements provide an unfair advantage to the athlete. The athlete's main concern is the safety of the supplements and if the improvements that they make or worth the consequences that they might bring.

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The key conflict behind both of these workout supplements is that very few people agree on what these drugs due to an individual or how they effect people. For example a quote from Barry Wineburg the Washington Post stated "Andro has no anabolic steroid effect. Nor does it have any proven anabolic side effect." While Dr. Linn Goldberg, professor of medicine and head of the division of health promotion and sports medicine at Oregon Health says, "When Andro is converted to testosterone, it is no different than taking anabolic steroids."

The NFL, the NCAA, and the Olympics have already banned Andro. American shot-putter Randy Barnes was the first man to be suspended for taking Andro. However, it still remains to be legal in the NHL, NBA, and the MLB. While Creatine remains to be legal in all sports. It was reported that more than of athletes in 1996 Olympics used creatine and half of all major college football programs also use Creatine. In the NFL some teams have banned their players from taking this workout supplement. The Association of Professional Team Physicians says that 85% of its members won't recommend using Creatine. The Cincinnati Bengals have banned their players from using Creatine due to negative side effects of cramping, dehydration and torn muscles. While other teams including the Denver Broncos consider Creatine "the legal safe steroid." Some people say that Creatine has been shown to have no negative side effects, while others report thousands of negative effects, the death of 79 people including possibly 3 college wrestlers within a span of 32 days. Later while Creatine was found in all of them their deaths where blamed on excessive heat exhaustion from trying to loose to much weight two quickly.

Creatine can be bought at any nutrition, including Krogers, store ranging from this price to that price. It is considered the safer of the two drugs and even have commercials on television. A major concern of many people came from the airing of Creatine commercials during the Little League World Series. Many people thought that a controversial drug that was debated last year on Inside the Lines on ESPN should be advertising to a potentially young audience. In California's Mater Dei High School, sells discount creatine to its sports athletes. Sports at five High Schools in Colorado's Cherry Creek district reported in a survey that 94 out of 762 males competing in sports report using Creatine. (sited from 4) Andro recommends that people under the age of 18 not to take the product. Should Creatine due the same thing?

Some say that these products can leave no side effects. Kristina Sauerwein from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes "Nor do studies exist showing Andro has negative side effects, Paletto said. For that reason, he said he doesn't discourage McGwire or other Cardinal players from taking Andro." Five days later in the Chicago Tribune Skip Bayless states. "They'll tell you about mood swings as powerful as McGwire's home run swing. About heightened aggression and depression, rising and falling sex drives. They'll swear by and sometimes at Andro."(sited from 5)

Creatine has its fair share of skeptics. Some saying that Creatine drastically alters the body's hydraulics as it shifts water from the bloodstream to the skeletal muscles. Some doctors fear this could lead to cardiovascular troubles. Bill Bryan, a team physician for the Houston Astros. "I wish EAS would take it off the market. I wish the FDA would ban it until adequate tests can be done on its effect." The British Olympic Association said April 4 1996 that if Creatine is taken in large quantities that it may lead to liver damage.(sited from 6)
 
 

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The next question is why some sports have banned Andro and why some sports have not. Creatine, which is in most circles considered safe, even though this is still a mystery. As far as I know Creatine is still legal in all sports. It is considered useful for recovery of working out but the question of whether or not it makes someone stronger is still speculated about. It is reported that over half of the athletes in the 1996 Olympics used Creatine and half of major college football teams report using it. Andro on the other hand has already been banned by the NFL, the NCAA, and the Olympics. However, it is still allowed by the NHL, the NBA, and MLB. After last years baseball season the Baseball Commissioner and Players union Chief issued a joint statement that they are going to study the whole area of nutritional supplements. Whether or not this will do any good is up in the air. The question of whether or not these supplements help or harm, or even if they work, is disputed by almost everyone asked. Just like any other nutritional supplement on the market there is no sure sign of what these supplements do. With the problems that sports have today with detecting illegal drug abuse, the chance that they will ban these supplements is questionable.

While Andro does not do any commercials on television and I have not seen any ads for it in magazines, Creatine commercials can be seen on television several times a day. NFL stars such as John Elway and Troy Aikman along with many other super stars endorse Creatine. The question is which shows should creatine be allowed to commercialize for. When Creatine did their commercial during the Little League World Series an uproar came up about what this is saying to a younger audience. Which child would not want to be as strong and as talented as their favorite major leaguer. Which father or mother would not want this for their child also. Some experts say that Creatine should be made illegal to anyone under the age of 18. Andro already has a warning on their bottle about it not recommended for anyone under the age of 18 and a lot of people feel that Creatine should be treated the same way. I have already discussed the number of high school students that already take these supplements. The age of development is different for many different people. Whether or not the body has matured physically can be effected if these supplements are taken at two earlier of an age. In most people's opinion their has to be some kind of control on when children or young adults should be able to take these substances. Another major question is if these younger children take these supplements now will this provide a stepping stone for them to move on to other drugs, like steroids down the line.

Another policy that I have seen is whether these drugs could be controlled by doctors. They have been shown to have positive aspects to them also. I have read reports about Creatine being used to help Aids patients help them recover quicker and with less pain during some of there muscle deterioration. By now most people know of the positive role that steroids have played in helping people with asthma and other ailments. Could Andro be shown to have the same role. A doctor could even prescribe these supplements to individuals to help them with their workout but would provide a safer dosage.

No matter what policy is followed, one thing is certain. These supplements have to be studied further. What role they play in the human body has to be determined. Like many other supplements o he major health threat that Steroids caused and the unfair advantage that it gave to those taking it, drugs put on the market it may take several years or decades to determine what Creatine or Andro do to the body. Around 20 years ago anabolic steroids where legal and still a mystery. Years later tcaused the drug not only to be banned from sports but to be made illegal to own or dispense the drug to anyone. Since then although some still use anabolic steroids the sports world has dramatically cleaned itself. The supplementation of taking Creatine and Andro to help your workout has just in the past six months is beginning to be looked into. If these supplements due eventually get banned from the NHL, NBA, and MLB, which is doubtful. The question remains how good will that actually be. Creatine and Andro are two of thousands of workout supplements that can be bought or sold anywhere. The competitive nature in individuals will push them to do anything they can to be better than the next guy. Everyone is looking for a competitive edge.